No Holding Back

On another warship decked out in candy colors, Perospero, leader of the Big Mom Pirates' remnants, elegantly licked his candy cane staff, a cold smile on his face.

His pirate ship might have looked gaudy, but every pirate on its deck was a veteran of the Big Mom Pirates. They gripped their weapons, faces twisted with fury and eyes burning for revenge.

Perospero gazed out across the sea and said to the men beside him with a soft laugh:

"Heh, heh, heh... Let them swagger all they want. Let those madmen charge ahead.

Our real plan involves more than a head-on clash."

He slowly traced a finger across the nautical chart, pointing to several areas marked in red: the projected routes of the Neo Marines and the Marines.

His smile grew more venomous.

"Once those fools draw the enemy into battle, we'll circle around the flank and stage the perfect bloody hunt."

His men exchanged knowing smiles. They licked their blades, eyes alight with bloodthirsty excitement.

Beneath the night sky, the pirates' wild laughter echoed across the entire stretch of sea, deafening as demons from hell proclaiming the slaughter to come.

Someone began beating a war drum on deck. Its dull thuds mingled with the crash of the waves, as though the whole world were pulsing to that savage rhythm.

Some pirates broke into battle songs, the melodies of plunderers. Every verse praised pillage, slaughter, and boundless riches.

Others drew their long blades and dueled on deck, sparks flying where steel met steel.

One pirate even cut down a crewmate over the outcome of a match. Instead of stopping him, the onlookers cheered all the louder—

That was the pirates' world. The strong devoured the weak, and only the strong survived the battlefield!

"Almost there! We're almost there!"

A